


Roar

by OldAmsterdam



Category: Parahumans Series - Wildbow
Genre: Action/Adventure, Eventual Romance, F/F, Multi, Personal Growth, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-02
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2019-03-25 15:33:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13837749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OldAmsterdam/pseuds/OldAmsterdam
Summary: Before Taylor and the Undersiders, there exists the story of Lillian Grant. Follow her on her journey of self-discovery amidst the Parahuman rich Denver.





	1. Prologue: Egg

_Author's Note:_

_Before anything, allow me to give special thanks to BCTheEntity for allowing me to use two of his characters (Messiah and Headhunter) in this, and for suggesting the title._

_Michael, for allowing me access to one of his characters. (Sofia)_

_Professional Protagonist, aka ProPro, for more than I have space for. Characters, ideas, assistance... You get the gist, you magnificent bastard._

_I'd also like to thank the author of Worm, Wildbow, for the amazing work he's done and all the inspiration._

_I'd also like to note that while I've read all of Worm and remain up to date on Ward, some new information may cause conflicts in this story. Since I've designed this Fic for the most part already in full, we'll be working with what I know at current. This Fic will take place before Taylor, for reference, and as such no main characters or overlap will occur with the official Worm story. This cast will be primarily original characters from myself, or those mentioned similarly to the above, though I do plan to include the likes of Alexandria, Legend, Eidolon, and an Endbringer (and maybe a few others in line there). Any similarities to existing characters and works are not intentional. Reviews and feedback are always appreciated._

_Here's to an amazing journey!_

**Prologue:**

_****_

_**Egg** _

Lillian looked at the door to her bedroom, her legs peeking out from beneath her white skirt as they bounced off of the frame of her bed. A slight shudder went through her as footsteps became audible, coming closer and closer and closer and -

"Lily, dear, are you ready for school? The bus will be here any minute," came the soft voice of her mother, muffled through the wood.

"... Yes, mother..." She mumbled, sliding off the bed and moving at a snail's pace. Her slender fingers grasped at her bookbag straps, dragging the bag as if it weighed several dozen times more than it did. Her other hand hesitated at the doorknob, shaking slightly, before pulling it open tentatively.

Step by step Lillian moved down the hall, deep maroon walls standing guard around her as her feet sank slightly into the burgundy carpet. Down the stairs, a hand tracing the hard oak railing, before stopping at the door. Her sneakers, black with images of Alexandria imposed upon the sides, glared back at her as if they wanted to devour her from the toes up.

 _I really wish I could just stay home..._  Lillian thought sullenly as her mother came around the corner with her lunch box. The woman was dressed per usual for a Monday. Official looking business clothes, sharp and crisp and a dull gray. So not her mother, that lack of color.

"Here, luv, I packed a little extra since you missed breakfast again," she said with a swift kiss on Lillian's forehead, making sure not to smudge any lipstick on her daughter.

"Thanks, mom," came the quiet reply as the young girl slipped into her shoes. She froze for a moment as a hand landed gently on her shoulder.

"You sure there's nothing wrong, Lily? You've been acting so... Reserved lately."

"I'm fine, mother. Really." The lie came easily, quickly, smoothly. Believable enough to slide.

"Well... Alright, dear. Have a good day at school."

"I won't..." Lillian muttered under her breath as she shut the door.

The air outside was brisk, the wind light but cutting, as she moved down the stairs leading up to the apartment. With a small hop she avoided the broken bottom step, slinging her backpack onto one shoulder. Overhead the sun was just beginning to usher in the morning rays fully, flashes of bright spots blinding the unwary through the trees on the faraway foothills of the mountains. Traffic was light here, but more could be heard from a few blocks away. A loud grinding noise signaled the approaching bus, causing Lillian to hurry. She couldn't afford to miss the bus and put that kind of strain on her mother. Her mother didn't need to suffer, too.

Unsurprisingly, the bus was already fairly crowded, the seats closest to the driver being the only ones with any availability. Not that she minded, it meant she was further from  _them_  and could start her morning in relative peace today.

Or so she hoped. Maybe she could just go  _one_  day without -

A splatter from a giant spitball caught her cheek as the offending projectile slid down the seat in front of her lethargically, leaving a trail of saliva behind it. Sliding down further, Lillian hugged her backpack to her knees as she closed her eyes.

 _Ignore them. Ignore them. Ignore them._  She chanted the words in her head, knowing today was going to turn into a bad day if they were already starting with spitballs. The humiliation, the taunting, the -

A slight jerking feeling alerted Lillian to the bus stopping, pulling her from her dreading thoughts, to which she practically jumped out of her seat and nearly ran into the school doors. She could hear the laughter at her expense as her cheeks flared red. A small price to pay to avoid the words themselves. The actions that would follow.

A slight whimper escaped her as she opened up her locker. Today... She could feel it. Today was going to be one of the bad ones.

With trepidation she closed her locker, hugging her books and notes to her chest tightly as she walked towards Algebra II. Her one decent subject, several classes ahead of where she should be for a fourteen year old. Something her parents praised her over, and her classmates tormented her for.

Thankfully, however, it was mostly Juniors in that class. Freedom, for her, and a slice of bliss. Arithmetic with polynomials, abstract concepts and numbers. Things she could get lost in.

Forty minutes passed by too quickly, however, the bliss fading into despair as Lillian took extra time at her locker. Gym, her least favorite period. The irony was not lost on her, as she shut her locker with force. A gymnastics lover who hated gym. Yeah, that's something people would laugh at in a book.

With a slight snort, Lillian set off for the gymnasium, her eyes on the ground as her hair shielded her face from the crowd as her lithe figure weaved expertly between bodies. Avoid notice, pass through wandering eyes.

With an audible sigh she leaned against the stall wall in the girl's changing room. Now she just needed to wait it out, get changed, and then make it through this period. One period at a time, one breath, one step, one -

"Hurry up, Miss Grant, everyone else is already ready!" Called in the deep rumbling voice of Coach Jarksen, a hulk of a man who could profit from showering more frequently.

Resigned, Lillian opened the stall, shoving her clothes hastily in her gym locker before exiting in a nervous rush.

"Now that we're all here!" The Coach yelled with a pointed glance towards Lillian. "Start stretching. It's getting physical today!"

Internally Lillian groaned, knowing that meant only so many things. Floor hockey, as they called it, or some variation of dodgeball. Neither option was pleasing for her.

"God, it's like she gets uglier everyday!" The remark, in a false attempt at being subtle, floated over towards Lillian. It sounded like Jake Galloway. Of course it would start with the verbal.

"Flat chested, practically, and greasy. We sure her parents aren't really lizards?" Chimed in Lindsey Porter.

Lillian looked down, her face reddening. She wasn't pretty, she knew that already. Did they have to beat it in, day after day all year long?

"Probably are. Makes sense for why she's such a stupid little coward," Hillary Caldwen remarked snidely, sounding horribly close.

 _Please just let me be!_  Lillian thought frantically.

As the whistle blew and Lillian turned towards the direction the Coach was coming from, she felt something hard collide with her back, between the shoulder blades, and she hit the solid wood floor. "Ugly lizard. Why don't you stay down where you belong." Her arms took most of the fall, but it still stung. She rubbed her elbows as she got up slowly, watching Lindsey laughing at her from a few feet away. "You know,  _under my feet_."

"Alright, today you kids are going to be playing floor hockey today. Whoever gets the most goals gets to skip tomorrow's workout. Winning team gets extra credit. Grab a stick and sort yourselves out."

As expected, the popular ones ended up together while the outcasts and unwanted ended up on the opposing side. Lillian's side. The weak, pathetic, ugly slime beneath the pretty, popular, athletic's feet.

The game... It wasn't very fun, not to Lillian's eyes. There was a distinct feeling of pressure, not merely from the Coach but from the students themselves. The drive to win, at any cost in some cases, against the drive to simply not be splattered by the more athletic.

They started easy enough, at least until the Coach's attention began to wane. Then came the hard pushes, the trips.

Even with all of that, the team Lillian was apart of was not doing horribly. They were several goals behind, and generally worse for wear in terms of bruising, but hadn't simply given up.

Lillian held her face after a particularly hard trip that ended with her biting her lip. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth, and out of the corner of her eye she saw the Coach stand up.

 _He's going to intervene! Maybe I can go to the nurse and... Wait, wait! Where are you going? Don't leave me with them. Please! No!_ she screamed in her head, standing up and taking a few steps in the direction the Coach had left the gym. A figure stepped on front of her view, a slick smile on their face. Lindsey.

Looking around frantically, Lillian realized she was surrounded.

"You ugly little rat, you pathetic little gecko! We're going to get it into your stupid ugly head!" Lindsey jeered, lifting up her hockey stick and moving forward slowly.

Lillian backed up with a mild squeak escaping her mouth, feeling the pressure from the others stopping her escape. Her eyes widened as she saw the stick rise, coming towards her fast, too fast!

She closed her eyes as she felt her world fall away, waiting for the pain. Tears slid down her face, cool against her warm skin as she held her breath.


	2. Hatching

_Author's Note:_

_As always, I would like to thank Professional Protagonist, aka ProPro, for allowing me to use characters and setting details from his own personal collection, and all the feedback he gives me._

_With that out of the way, I'd like to thank all the readers for joining me on this Adventure. I love you all._

_Finally, I'd like to mention that I'm still ironing out some of the later details and characters for this story, so my upload consistency will be a little slow these first couple chapters. However, I will do my best to hold myself to a bi-weekly update schedule. Hopefully Thursdays and Mondays! Here's to finding that schedule!_

_I also want to apologise for any errors you may find in my work. I am, unfortunately, mobile only and my phone ... Has a mind of its own. As they are noted, or found by myself, I'll be making edits to did such issues._

* * *

****

**Chapter One**

_****_

_**Hatching** _

_  
_

The blow never came. The sharp snap, the whooshing of displaced air, everything Lillian had prepared for just simply didn't happen. Instead there was light and darkness and this fire burning through her very veins. Flashes and images and  _knowledge._

And then it was gone. The... What?

Screams of absolute terror drug Lillian back to reality with a hard tugging. When did she start breathing again? Why hadn't she been struck yet? Why... Did everyone look so small?

Her tail swung wide as she spun around, colliding with Lindsey who was sent flying from the impact before sliding along the floor and into the bleachers.

Wait, tail? She didn't have a...

_Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no oh no no no no no no no_ , Lillian's thoughts began to spiral as her situation began to clarify in her mind. She did have a tail. And scales and fangs and claws and -

She let out an anguished roar, the sound reverberating through the very bones of her peers as they continued to panic. Some had hidden behind the bleachers, she could see, while others had left the gymnasium or entered the locker rooms. Desperate for escape, for safety, the adrenaline pumping through their veins jumbled with pure pants-wetting fear.

In a fear all her own, Lillian was quickly losing control. It had happened, she was exactly what they claimed. A monster. A freak.

Turning around Lillian felt something give way under her feet, a startling series of cracks resounding through the air like gunshots. Sharp stabbing pain shot up her leg as she pulled it free from the wreckage of one of the bleachers, drawing forth another mighty howl from her jaws. When had she moved over that far?

Desperate for escape, Lillian leaned low and shoved against the gym doors, which flew open violently, before squeezing through the opening herself.

* * *

" _We've got a Trigger Event in Denver Academia,_ " a male voice sounded clearly though the earpiece of a man as he stood on a rooftop. A visor covered most of his face, while some kind of guard covered the rest. His clothes, a deep mixture of grays and whites, seemed as if the colors themselves were being affected by gravity. " _I got a ping a few moments ago, student used his phone to call 911. Sounds complicated, they're terrified over there."_

"Thanks Decoy, Protean and I got this."

_"I do stress that you hurry, Discus._ "

"Ain't gotta remind me."

The man, Discus, cracked his neck a few times before running forward from the rooftop he was on, launching across the street onto the next, landing light as a feather. Nearby a winged version of the mythological Manticore rose from an alley and began flying near him. They moved quickly, with the beast flying easily and the man making leaps far beyond what one might expect possible without any signs of hard landings. As they neared the school the beast opened it's beak and spoke with a male voice. "Lots of running down there, wonder if - "

He was interrupted by a loud roar and the large glass front of the entryway exploding outwards.

* * *

Lillian looked for escape from the too small area and the ongoing looks and screams directed her way. At the monster. The freak. She couldn't even begin to understand, to comprehend, she just needed to get out. Away, away, away away away away away!

She was tense, the anxiety and adrenaline clashing with how low she had to stoop to navigate the hallways. Still her back scraped the ceiling, and her tail and sides dented lockers as she went, before she came across a viable exit. Why hadn't she thought about it sooner? The front entrance!

People were running at the sight of her, more screams, and she felt her heart breaking. She couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't - she needed out  _now_!

The entrance had a higher ceiling, allowing Lillian to get a bit of a leaning-run forward before smashing through the glass wall that barred her way to freedom, roaring in irritation at the pain. A release, in a way, of the agony bleeding through her from her very core.

Fresh air assaulted her open wounds, shallow though they were, and she lifted her head and released the pent up frustration and anger and depression and emotion building up inside her in a single noise. A shadow caught her notice, to which she felt her heart drop. A creature was flying towards her over the rooftops. Either a Parahuman or something created by one, and neither option was one she felt like dealing with at this point.

Turning, she began running down the street, her claws leaving small grooves in the pavement with each powerful push off from her hind legs. In her peripherals she could see the  _thing_  quickly gaining ground - errr air? - on her at an alarming rate. At this pace it would catch her at any moment and then -

"Will you just cool it? No need to be rushing and running. We're just here to help you," came a voice right beside her. A turn of her head showed that the winged beast had caught up and... Was talking to her?

Lillian was so shocked at this fact that she lost her footing and crashed to the ground, sliding into a parked minivan. She felt the metal wrap around her and give from the impact. Her attempts to stand up were proving to be useless endeavors, and after several moments Lillian simply quit trying. She was stuck.

The beast landed with a slight  _thump_  and stared at her with his head cocked slightly to the side. "Errrr...I thought minivans weren't cool? Shouldn't a kid be trying to avoid one?" He said with a soft chuckle.

"Not the time for jokes, Protean," came another male voice as the man in the helmet caught up. "Can you change back, kid? We want to talk. I'm Discus. We're with the Protectorate; we want to help you, but we can't do that if we can't communicate. Alright?"

Lillian blinked slowly, feeling her muscles spasm as the adrenaline began to fade. They were with the PRT?  _Oh, god, I'm being arrested. Arrested!? Mom's going to kill me!_ Lillian thoughts raced.  _Crap, crap, crap!_

"Give me something, kid. I just want to help. I can't speak with a dinosaur."

"Unless they're like me?" Protean said quietly. "And that's not just any dinosaur, that's a Velociraptor... Kinda? But better."

Lillian took a deep breath. She was cornered and didn't understand anything. But she understood everything. Like flipping a mental switch Lillian felt the scales and hide recede and become skin and pores, her pointed teeth return to normal, her claws retract into nails. Everything was shooting back into her or shifting and rolling and rippling. With a small gasp Lillian fell forward out of the dent in the van and landed on all fours. Her body ached, bruises quickly forming along her back and sides, and all the small cuts seemed to have became larger. Without warning her slight shaking intensified as the tears began to flood forth uncontrolled and unimpeded.

"Oh!" Discus exclaimed softly, bending down and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's okay, alright?"

Lillian shook her head violently, recoiling from the contact, "N-no. It's not."

"Why don't you come with us? Get you patched up, a good look over. Help you figure things out."

Lillian was quiet minus the hitching sobs as she just waited for them to just slap the cuffs on her. Did they even do that anymore?

"Okay, I get it. It's weird and scary. How about something simple first? What's your name?"

"... Lillian"

"Alright, Lillian, I'm glad you're here. It's a mess, it's complicated, getting powers and everything. But you got us here, so you don't have to go through all the confusion. No messy interactions trying to deal with what Triggered you. We want to help you, but we can't if you won't talk. Would you rather talk to someone else?"

A shrug was his only response, which Protean found highly amusing.

"Decoy, you mind sending transport our way?" Discus requested over the comm.

_"Already on it's way. I've got Jennifer and I'm getting Harkens on standby for when Lillian gets here."_

"Alright, Lillian, we're going to bring you to HQ with us. You'll be able to talk to someone there and they'll help you figure things out, alright?"

With a shudder Lillian nodded once, wiping at her face as she regained enough control over herself to stop crying. She sniffled as she waited, flinching when Protean sat down beside her. "I know what it's like to feel like an outcast. It gets better when you find a bigger not-family Family to be a part of. Promise."

Lillian glanced at him briefly in confusion, but never had a chance to ask him what he meant before the transport car pulled up and she slid inside onto soft leather seats. She glanced out the window at the two heroes as the vehicle started rolling, wondering why they'd been so nice to her.

Curling up as best she could with the seatbelt, she looked through her hair at the trooper across from her. This was like a limo without the limo. She didn't really understand how it was made, but it seemed like the front passenger seat had been turned around. The man tried to make conversation for a while, before giving up as Lillian offered no response.

Some time later, Lillian felt a hand on her shoulder, shaking her gently. " - here. Yeah, she fell asleep not long after we pulled away. Ten minutes ago, maybe?"

Lillian sat up slowly, rubbing at her eyes in an attempt to clear them, before giving a baleful look at whoever was touching her. A woman, prim and proper in business clothing, with her black hair in a bun. She held out her hand for Lillian.

Maybe it was the incredible similarity to Lillian's mother, or just the general friendliness the woman seemed to emanate, but Lillian reached out to the offering like it was an anchor. Ducking out of the vehicle, she looked up at the building they were moving towards.

Tall, wide, yet strangely high tech given the overall business look it radiated. People mulled around the entrance, many dressed prim and proper. Holographic displays pointed directions and gave information to newcomers, projecting various colors that Lillian could see even from the sidewalk.

"I'm Jennifer, and this... Well, I'm sure you already know. PRT Denver HQ, upgraded by our very own Decoy! I'm just going to lead you to a counselor. He'll take it from there," the woman said with enthusiasm. Lillian looked up at her briefly before returning her attention towards the building.

Such beauty in the design, the curves instead of edges, the complimentary light colors striking out against the hard blacks of the counters and desks. It was oddly comforting, Lillian had to admit.

That didn't stop her from clinging to Jennifer like her life was dependant on the connection between their hands as they walked through the automatic doors.


	3. Imprint

_Author's Note:_

_It may have been a little much for me to aim for bi-weekly, given personal things going on, but I'm going to keep trying to update as often as I can._

_As always, thanks to ProPro for putting up with my pestering._

_Solokolos for being critical and helping me grow as a writer._

_Let's roll full steam ahead!_

**_ Chapter Two _ **

**_Imprint_ **

Lillian pulled back slightly against her escort's hand, bringing the both of them to a stop slightly to the side of the main entry. Noticing the quizzical look of Jennifer, Lillian turned slightly red. "I... Need a moment. To adjust?" She said softly, glancing at her feet.

"Ah, understandable. Take your time, Lillian. We won't go forward until you are ready to," the woman replied easily, giving her hand a slight squeeze. Another similarity to her mother, Lillian noted. She was kind, even to a freak like her. Really, the more she considered the woman next to her, the more the personality seemed to be a reflection of her mother. Calm, kind, full of business but not in a stuffy way.

The inside of the building was, as she had thought, drastically different than the outside had been. The colored screens had pointed at such, but to actually be inside looking at it... It really was something else. A marvel.

Where the outside had been very official seeming, almost like a mark on a postcard, the inside was warm and inviting. Lillian found herself noting the differences, and found herself a little surprised at it.

The outside was the background, inviting the eyes towards the focal point inwards, the curves and the neutral colors drawing focus towards the windows and the colors inside. It had felt almost guarded in how inviting it was. Not that Lillian was surprised at that, being the HQ to the local PRT branch. Maybe that was what originally caught her by surprise? She was actually entering the facility instead of just imagining what it looked like inside in a daydream.

The inside, however, was beyond anything she could have prepared for. With all the advanced tech and general warm atmosphere... She could almost believe she was here on a visit and not as a monster that had just caused hundreds of dollars worth of damages to her school.

The staff and the visitors were hard to distinguish, outside of the PRT soldiers in their uniform, given the general formal appearance most people were wearing. If they weren't behind a desk, Lillian honestly couldn't tell the difference. People in suits and dresses and fancy clothes, some with briefcases, walked to and fro. Some superst to talk with others, some entered various doors and elevators... It was, Lillian felt, eerily similar to what she imagined a beehive was like.

_I wonder if anyone thinks this woman is my mother..._  the thought interrupted Lillian's musings. An odd thought, but one she was not against being true given the circumstances. If anyone could play the part of her mother temporarily, it was Jennifer.

Releasing a quiet sigh, she pulled herself out of her thoughts. Yeah, she was in the building of heroes and it was as magnificent as she had always hoped.

And it scared the living tar out of her. If only it was under better circumstances. If only she wasn't a freak. If only -

"It'll be alright, Lillian. We'll sort everything out easy-peasy, promise," Jennifer's voice broke through the fog that was crawling along Lillian's vision, a light squeeze giving her an anchor to latch onto.

"L-let's get this over with..." Lillian stumbled through the words, rubbing at her face as she was led deeper into the building. Past all the people, their sameness blurring together before her eyes. Past the desks, phones ringing and people talking, questions and answers. Through sliding doors, silent as the hallway behind them. Under the bright lights, past closed doors, and up several floors in an elevator that didn't even seem like it moved.

Into the belly of the beast. No hope. No future. No turning back.

A brighter light from ahead caught Lillian's notice, causing her to look up from the floor and her feet at...a vending machine. A fancy one, at that, full of LED lights and so many different ways to pay. The front had a screen in the corner, too, that seemed to switch through various advertisements for the products inside the machine. It was so colorful, Lillian noticed, just like the first area of the building had been. It drew her attention, captured her, as she felt a tug in her mind at the machine.

They turned a corner while Lillian continued to look at the machine, and she promptly walked right into a girl not much older than herself.

Lillian's eyes went wide as she took in the girl. By most standards she wasn't above average attractiveness by any means, with straight brown hair running down to just above her waist at the small of her back. She was just a bit taller than Lillian herself was, allowing Lillian to look easily into the girl's bright green eyes that had little specks of blue sprinkled throughout. She was wearing a solid white tee and a longer skirt than Lillian's that was a crisp, clean white. As she continued to stare at the girl, Lillian realized how fit she was, with lean muscles and an air of power about her that Lillian couldn't quite understand.

Lillian realized that a hand was on her shoulder, likely the only reason she hadn't hit the floor in the collision. She was further shocked to realize that the hand belonged to the girl. She had reacted quickly, securing the both of them from landing on the floor.

"Are you alright?" The girl was talking to her. Lillian opened her mouth a few times before nodding quickly.

"Alessa, I didn't expect to see you around at this hour. Why aren't you in school?" Jennifer asked with curiosity flooding her tone.

"It's my day off," was the simple response. Actually paying attention this time, Lillian felt there was  _something_  behind that melodic voice. Like a hook, it pulled at her, drawing her in.

"Ah, yes. I hate to cut it short, but Lillian and I need to get over to Harkens."

"I'll get out of your way then," Alessa said with a smile. Before Lillian had moved to follow Jennifer, Alessa leaned over and whispered in her ears, "I hope you join the Wards." Such an odd statement, Lillian thought, but she didn't have a chance to ask about it before she was being guided gently forward. Glancing over her shoulder, she watched Alessa continue in the opposite direction as something stirred inside her. How did the girl know she had powers, let alone that she might even have such an impossible option available to her? Something to wonder about later, perhaps.

Only a few moments later and Lillian was in a room that couldn't have been more confusing. It was comfortable, cozy even, with lots of neutral colors and a middle aged man shuffling papers behind a solid mahogany desk. His hair was short, with some streaks of gray, clean shaven, and a pair of spectacles sat on his caramel colored nose, sliding a little as he looked up at them.

"Ah, yes, you must be Miss Grant. Please, do come in. Feel free to sit anywhere, and please excuse the mess I've made!" He exclaimed amicably, gesturing at the various different seats available. Lillian slid into the soft leather of one chair after Jennifer gave her a small nudge forward. Looking at the older woman, Lillian was disappointed to see she hadn't sat down herself.

"You're not staying?" She whispered towards her guide.

"I'm afraid I can't. I'm needed elsewhere, but I'll be back when you're done, okay?"

Lillian nodded, watching the woman retreat and shut the door behind her. That left her alone with... He hadn't said his name, had he? What was all this, anyways? It wasn't a booking station, at least she couldn't imagine it was. It wasn't a prison cell or a courthouse or... She looked back at the man, taking in his appearance again. The hair, the smile, the jacket. Comfortable room. Warm atmosphere.

"Is this... Therapy?" She asked hesitantly.

"Normally, yes. I stay here most days so that the Wards have easy access to someone in case they need to talk," he said in that calm voice she mentally associated with therapists in movies. "Oh! Forgive me, I've forgotten to introduce myself haven't I? Miguel Harkens, at your service!" He paused, smiling, before he continued. "I'm sure you're confused tenfold by now. I hope I can help with that. So please, ask away. I know I would have questions in your shoes."

"I don't understand." Her quiet reply surprised her.

"That's perfect understandable, Miss Grant. There's been a lot of big changes in a very short amount of time, and they all - "

"I don't understand why I'm not in jail." Lillian clarified as Harkens took a breath.

"Jail? Do you think you deserve to be in jail?"

"Yes. I broke stuff. A lot of stuff," she muttered, looking at her feet.

"Don't you think the extraordinary circumstances give you leeway?"

"I broke stuff. I turned into a giant dinosaur monster." Her voice hitched at the end of the sentence.

"You were undergoing a lot of trauma during all of that. No one faults you for accidental damage during such a difficult situation," Harkens said gently. "No severe injuries, all the damage is easily fixed, and thankfully Discus and Protean were barely two blocks away at the time and were able to help get you away from everything causing you anguish."

Lillian flinched, despite the obvious attempt to put her at ease. There  _had_  been injuries. She thought of the feeling of her tail connecting with Lindsay, a mixture of fear and joy battling it out at the memory. "That doesn't make it okay."

"You don't feel it's a reasonable excuse?"

"No. There's no good excuse for a monster to exist..."

That seemed to give Harkens pause, as he leaned back in his own chair and scratched at his chin. "Well, I can hardly argue there except that you're no monster. You're a young girl who's obviously been through some terrible trauma that can't simply be addressed in a single sitting. You're remarkably aware of the gravity of the situation, I think I can confidently assume that, yes?"

"Yes."

"I normally wouldn't jump straight into the nitty gritty, but I think we both can agree that you would benefit from a healthier environment sooner than later. You're a Parahuman now, whether you continue to use your abilities or not. What do you plan to do?"

It was her turn to pause, biting her lip, as she wondered about what he meant. "I... Don't know?" She paused as something dawned on her. "Wait, how did you know my last name?"

"The PRT pulls relevant public records when dealing with any situation. Given that we hope to both help you and that you may choose to come on as a Ward, it was relevant," he said as he tapped the papers on his desk. "We pulled up your legal contacts as well, and notified your mother that there was an incident, that you are alright, and that she could swing by at any time for you without any issues."

"You... You called my mother?!" Lillian gasped.

"She deserved to know the situation, don't you agree?"

"I mean, I guess, but..."

"This leads us back into the big question for you to consider. What do you want to do with your abilities?"

Lillian was quiet at the question this time, giving it proper thought. She's been reacting to everything, not thinking, and look at where that had gotten her?

There were plenty of options, from what she knew. The Wards, as had been mentioned. Underage heroes under employ by the PRT, moving up into the Protectorate ranks after becoming of age.

Doing nothing was also there. Live out her life as if this had never happened, maybe change schools and just... Run away from the problem.

Villains and the like... She refused to even consider that route as an option. No, she wasn't a bad guy.

Her eyes wandered over the room again, taking in more details. The way everything was ordered, the file cabinets she hasn't noticed at first filling the corners of the room. Paintings that, when she looked at them, left her with a little sense of peace in those colors. She noticed Starry Night. The great wall of glass behind Mr. Harkens, giving a view of the city. She hadn't realized they were several stories up, that they were this high. The elevator hadn't seemed like much of a ride.

The room was comfortable, she decided. Meant to relax those coming in with a sense of freedom and security, while feeling almost like home, and Lillian  _was not_  as tense as she had been. Maybe it was being away from everything causing her problems, maybe the room itself, or maybe just the way Mr. Harkens was talking and acting but she felt calm. Though she wasn't sure if calm was necessarily the exact way to explain it. Perhaps numb was a better way of explaining her emotional state.

Looking back at the man, there was a previously buried strength shining in her eyes as she answered him. "I want to be a Ward."

Harkens nodded slowly, a smile spreading across his face, at the words. "That's wonderful, Miss Grant! There's some hoops to jump through, but it'll mostly be on our ends. We were hoping you might want to go that route, but it needed to be entirely your choice. Assuming your mother doesn't object, which I don't think she will, and everything else goes smoothly I can't imagine there will be any issues getting in your way."

Lillian looked out the window behind the man, feeling conflicted. Was she good enough for such a group? Could she... Was she making the right decision?

And her mother! Oh, how worried she was about that. Would her mother be okay with everything? Would she still love her when she was a monster?

And what about that constant nagging in her head, feeding her ideas and concepts that felt so... Alien to everything she had known before?


End file.
